


Departure and Arrival (Threefold)

by frozenCinders



Category: Naruto
Genre: 1 2 3 otogakure division rights, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23554858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: In a gentle twist of fate, the Sound trio survived the chuunin exam, although they've wordlessly gone their separate ways. Funnily enough, it seems like something is pulling them back together in the form of a criminal organization.
Relationships: Abumi Zaku & Dosu Kinuta & Kin Tsuchi, Deidara & Zaku, Kakuzu & Kin, Sasori & Dosu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my dumb ass decided to rewatch the chuunin exams and was reminded of how much i love dosu's team but i also love the akatsuki to death and lord knows how i am so now i've decided sasori has a son, deidara has a rowdy little brother, and kakuzu has a daughter
> 
> anyway, i don't have huge plans for this au, i just wanted to get it out there. i have some ideas for when the sound trio are reunited, but no plot for anything further. please consume my propaganda and join my agenda

Dosu always considered himself loyal for the sake of loyalty. He's not so obstinate when it comes down to it, so if he were given a reason to reexamine his loyalty, he would do so. Whatever conclusion he may draw from a different perspective arising may shift where his loyalties lie, and that's just fine.

Orochimaru hardly ever did anything for Dosu, anyway, and something tells him he never will. After the whole situation with Sasuke, Dosu quickly decided he was sick of Orochimaru, prioritizing loyalty to oneself over loyalty to one's master. He considered actively undermining Orochimaru, sabotaging him just to show him that he was quite mistaken to see Dosu as a pawn that's apparently not even valuable enough to communicate with. He had several ideas.

Intuition told him they were all useless. That sand kid was insane and messing with him, while tempting if Dosu could catch him off guard, seemed to spell nothing but trouble in a huge, bold font. Taking Sasuke down a peg might hinder Orochimaru, but Dosu began to question whether he was really capable of it, anyway. Even the kids that didn't stand out in this godforsaken examination seemed to be hiding ridiculous power. Zaku refused to acknowledge that possibility and lost an arm for it. The other remained attached, but Dosu isn't sure his wind tunnel will work right even once he's fully recovered.

Since Dosu did not, does not, and will not ever give a shit about actually becoming a chuunin, he ditched the exam. He simply did not show up for his fight-- nor to watch any of them. He figured he'd let the sand freak and Orochimaru's new favorite kill each other. From what he heard, the whole damn village nearly went down right after the fight. Dosu is glad he skulked off, and he doesn't plan on letting Orochimaru find him ever again.

Two years pass. Dosu hasn't seen hide nor hair of his former teammates-- though, in fairness, he rarely sees anyone. He did always prefer to be alone, but he's even more of a hermit now. He's isolated and self-sufficient, and thus the only people he ever encounters are the occasional strangers who wander near his home.

One such stranger sticks out to him. Dosu mostly witnesses average shinobi and the occasional Anbu, but one wanderer comes along with an unusual sound. Most people wouldn't be able to tell, but Dosu has always had obscenely sharp hearing. This person doesn't sound human.

He quietly observes it for the duration it is in his territory. It looks to all eyes like a large, hunched over man, and probably even sounds standard to the untrained ear. To Dosu, it sounds like a husk of wood and metal with something big inside of it.

As this is the most interesting thing Dosu has witnessed in quite a while, he continues following the husk from a safe distance even once it ends up well past Dosu's home. It eventually meets up with a man who seems to idly swallow three times more often than the average human, and he's wearing the same cloak as the husk.

Dosu is surprised when he hears it speak to the man.

"You're early. For once."

By all means, it sounds human. There's something particularly dry about the voice, something that hits Dosu as artificial and uncanny, but that's probably only because he already knows it isn't human.

"Don't be dramatic, my man. I'm always on time, you just think anything later than ten minutes early is late, hm."

The way this man speaks reminds him of the way Zaku used to talk.

"It is. Ten minutes is no time at all."

"Yet I wouldn't hear the end of it if I made you wait ten minutes, hm."

"Correct."

The man laughs. He's acting like the husk is his friend. Does he not know it isn't human or does he just not care? They're wearing identical robes, so they must... actually, didn't Dosu hear something about cloaks with cloud patterns? What was it?

"A straggler?" the man asks. It sounds like he's chewing gum with his mouth open, yet he clearly isn't. Dosu could swear the sound is coming from his person, though...

"I haven't engaged with anyone, and I don't plan to," the husk answers, disinterested. The man looks directly at Dosu now, and he quickly gathers who they're referring to.

He has two options before him. The first is to flee before the situation goes south, like a reasonable person. The second is one Dosu would not consider at this point in his life if he weren't at least a little interested in that husk that's pretending to be human.

He comes down from his hiding spot, making no attempts to make himself menacing. The husk bothers to look at him, though it doesn't turn to face him.

"Apologies. I have especially good ears, you see, and I couldn't help but notice your... situation," he says, staring pointedly at the husk. No need to rat him out to his friend if he's not already aware, after all.

"Situation?" his friend asks. Now that he's closer, Dosu determines that the sound he's hearing is closer to the ground than it would have to be if it were actually coming from the man's mouth. He must be doing something with his hands.

Hm. Now that he thinks about it, they both seem like freaks. No point in keeping a stranger's secret, then.

"You see, humans have certain idle noises that they can't help but make. Breathing, the circulation of blood, even your thoughts produce the faintest sound in your throat. From you," he points to the man, "I hear more of this than I should. From your friend, however... I hear none of it."

"... Wow. That's a neat way of sussing you out, huh, my man? Mm."

As Dosu suspected, he already knew.

"And? Is there a point to all this?" the husk prods. Dosu easily puts together that he's impatient.

"I'm saying... it was innocent curiosity. I mean you no harm."

And it's the truth. Whether they'll choose to believe him is another matter. The husk has now revealed a tail like that of a scorpion.

"I hear only wood, metal, and the rustling of fabric. There appears to be something inside of you that I would normally assume is the person controlling you, but... there is no person, is there?" he asks. When the husk's movements stop, he feels he's hit the nail on the head.

The cloak falls suddenly as if torn away by some invisible force, and a compartment on the back of the husk is kicked open by an apparently human leg.

"What the hell..? My man, you never come out, hm."

What rises from the husk appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a normal human man. Yet, Dosu's ears do not detect any human-like noises from him at all.

"Just felt the need to prove this cocky brat wrong."

His voice is different now that he's free of the husk. It's still dry, though, still so vaguely inhuman.

"Yeah, that checks out, mm."

He sees one finger on the revealed body's hand twitch and suddenly the husk's tail is attempting to strike him. Dosu kept his distance for reasons like this, and has plenty of relative time to dodge.

This thing can hear, but there's no way it receives sound the same way a normal human does. The best Dosu could hope for is to take down his friend, but he'd be hopeless against this--

Wait, is he using chakra threads to control the husk? That's like the cat-eared desert boy from the chuunin exams...

"A puppetmaster, then..." Dosu surmises.

"Yes. A puppetmaster who has eliminated the weakness of the master being a separate, vulnerable target from the puppet. You see, Hiruko is just a precaution. Since you already know I don't have a human body, I may as well tell you outright that I myself have become a puppet."

He... talks so casually, so apathetically. He's a puppet? Not only that, but he's implying he didn't used to be? Did his friend here turn him into one?

"Sasori, my man, you should come out more often. Look at the face he's making, hm!"

"Sasori? Of the red sand?" It's by accident that Dosu repeats the name aloud. His survival instinct has now taken over his interest in the situation and he starts trying to think of a way to escape unscathed.

"Yes... it isn't bad, is it? Heh... I can't believe we actually agree on something," Sasori remarks. Apparently, both of them are amused that he's intimidated.

Dosu is normally quite good at de-escalation. If he can exercise that skill here, he might just come away with his life. The only problem is, he has no bargaining chip, and has already used up his one chance to offer his reasoning. From the start, he should have ran.

"Sound, huh?" Sasori points out, noticing Dosu's headband, which he keeps wrapped around his ankle these days. Its visibility isn't apparent, plus he's defaced the metal with a crude slash through the music note, so it's a wonder Sasori could notice it. Maybe his vision is as inhuman as the eyes he sees through.

"Formerly. I'm sure you've heard of Orochimaru? I'm not so hot on him."

Sasori seems intrigued by that.

"So much so that you'd abandon your village?"

Sasori is a known rogue ninja from the Sand, and his friend looks to be missing from the Stone as well, so the concept of abandoning one's village shouldn't baffle him.

"To work on my training alone until I hit upon something that could make that man miserable, yes," he answers.

Hiruko's tail lowers. Sasori's friend gives him a curious look.

"Alone, you won't be able to accomplish much. Not if you got paralyzed like that in front of us," Sasori says, and he unfortunately has a point. "... Maybe I could use ears like yours."

He could use him..? Well, if this is what it takes to live and wait for a chance to get back at Orochimaru, Dosu will have to agree to serve Sasori. At the very least, he'll be transparent about it.

"... And maybe I'm beginning to get a little stir crazy. I could stand to get out more, I suppose."

"Huh. Most of your guys are sleeper agents, right, my man? Is this your first who's wide awake?"

"Not the first, but one of few."

And so, after two years with no missions or contact with the outside world whatsoever, Dosu is suddenly regularly being contacted with things to do for Sasori. Because he's "one of few" who is fully aware that he serves Sasori, he often ends up being an errand boy to collect ingredients for poisons and materials for puppets when Sasori is too busy to pick them up himself. In return, Sasori teaches him some surprisingly valuable skills, claiming that he deserves to know these things if his grudge is anything like Sasori's.

Dosu expected his brand of loyalty to remain the same, but he supposes one can't help but change over time. Whereas he didn't really think about what he was doing when he served Orochimaru, Dosu actually likes Sasori and finds it fulfilling to work for him. He thinks that, even if something were to challenge the way he views their relationship, and even if Sasori were to attempt to discard him, he would remain loyal to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: the value of ryo is canonically in between yen and usd. for example, 1 dollar = ~10 ryo = ~100 yen.

Still stuck in a fucking hospital bed. Miserable. Kin won't show her face. Dosu's missing. Zaku thinks he'll be pissed off for the rest of his life.

As if it wasn't enough that his arms were dislocated by that stupid kid in the forest, some other, _dumber_ kid fucked them up even worse. Zaku still wants to blame Sasuke, mostly because he can't be bothered to remember the other one's name.

Orochimaru hasn't been to see him even once. He knows where the fuck they stand now. It's fine, too, because Zaku can't ever bring himself to care how badly he's treated. He doesn't care at all, because he's too quick to shove everything behind him and consider it the past. His past is already irredeemable, just add it to the dumpster fire and it'll all blend together. Who gives a shit.

He's got one arm left, feels like none. There's no way Orochimaru sees a future for him, and he certainly has no present. The idea of Zaku existing solely in the past, in anyone's eyes, is what scares the shit out of him. Even now, _especially_ now, he's in a rush to move forward. There's nowhere to go, but he runs. The nurses chase him, but that's one more thing he doesn't give a shit about.

He runs, and as always, it's a damn wonder that he manages to survive.

Three years pass and Zaku has long since gotten used to his prosthetic. It's actually more convenient than modifying a human arm. He's gotten better at close-quarters combat and has developed new forms of his old wind tunnel techniques. The one in his remaining arm was damaged beyond repair, but he found himself terrified to close the hole up, so he lets his opponents wonder about it without ever offering them an answer. They're looking at the wrong arm, anyway.

"Y'ever do mercenary work?" some older guy asks Zaku after witnessing one of his fights. He's made somewhat of a name for himself in this tiny village. That means it's time to fuck off soon.

"Nah. Complications and shit, hm," Zaku answers vaguely, punctuating it with a long sip from a glass that's more ice than water.

"That's a shame. Had a job in mind, but I can find someone else."

The old man moves to take his glass of whiskey and skedaddle, but Zaku changes his mind on the spot.

"Eh. If it's local, I'm listening," he says, because he can't very well pass up an easy meal ticket. As long as you-know-who doesn't come up, nor anyone associated with him, Zaku should be fine.

"Change your mind that easy, huh?" The old guy lowers his voice and leans in a little; Zaku resists the urge to recoil at the smell of the drink on his breath. "I have a shipment moving to the Cloud that I need guarded. I've got two people on it already, but it's a long ride. Could use at least one more."

Fuck, the Cloud village is far as hell.

"How much?" Zaku asks. Really, he'll take any amount that'll feed him in most cases, but he knows how to act expensive.

"3,500 ryo; food and board are covered separate from that."

Fuck, he'll take it.

"Up front, after you give me the details, hm."

By the time he's taken another sip, the old guy has the money on the table, resting his hand over it as he explains to Zaku where he'll be going and that he cannot, for any reason, deviate from the route he's giving him. Zaku forces himself not to shrug; he nods instead and takes the money.

"First thing in the morning," the old man tells him.

"First thing, hm."

Usually, when shit goes awry, it likes to happen near the end, doesn't it? So why the fuck does Zaku barely avoid a sudden explosion not two hours into the ride?

"Fucking _already?!_ "

"Sorry, my partner doesn't like to wait, hm," Zaku hears in response to his outburst. He looks up to see a giant white bird with a man on its back.

He watches the two mercs try and fail to fight him. Little white creatures of all shapes fly down to them and explode in strategic spots; their knees and elbows are forced to fail them by little spiders that had leapt off the birds while they're busy trying to keep their heads and hearts safe. The way he kills them is... kind of cool.

"That's fucking dope. Too bad I'm not interested in dying," Zaku comments, vaulting over a chunk of the wagon in the beginnings of an attempt to run away, but he stops when he sees what's spilled out of it.

"Heh. Didn't even know what you were guarding, did you? Hm."

"I don't ask questions because I don't give a shit. Guessing you're not gonna let me take any of this, mm."

He thinks he sees the guy squint at him, but he's a little far and he has an eye covered, so who knows.

"Let me show you something else that's "dope", kid," he says, lifting his hand from his side and revealing a white butterfly resting delicately on the backs of his fingers. Zaku isn't fooled, though, he knows the white animals this guy controls are actually bombs.

Rather than run and struggle to keep his distance from it, Zaku stands his ground and aims his prosthetic at the butterfly as it flutters towards him. He noticed earlier that the bombs didn't explode on the mercs until this guy detonated them, so he waits.

"What, you think you're gonna catch it?" he taunts. If Zaku were a bit younger, he would have taunted back and ruined his own plan. But damn, would it be worth it to talk shit like he was 14 again.

Just as the guy's hand comes up, Zaku uses his arm's highest wind setting to blow it back at him. Just as he hoped, it detonates on its way, and the entire bird has to rear back to protect its master from harm.

"Heh. Not bad..."

Zaku has both of his palms in view now, revealing the wind tunnels on both of them, even if one's a dud. Slowly, the man smiles and brings his own hand up, and Zaku watches a mouth open up on it.

"Oh, you're a freak, are you?" Zaku says, unbothered. The guy must be used to it, because he doesn't falter at the insult.

Zaku instinctively jumps away from his spot and looks back to see a giant scorpion tail lodge itself in a chunk of wood from the broken down wagon.

"What the hell? Another one!" He pauses as he takes the newcomer's appearance in. "... Heh, you remind me of Dosu, mm."

He seems shocked at the name and Zaku wonders just for a second if maybe it actually is him, and maybe he attacked without recognizing Zaku.

"Do you have a headband?" he asks, and his voice isn't like Dosu's, so Zaku guesses he was wrong.

"Uh... yeah?"

Zaku keeps it on him, but he doesn't wear the damn thing. It's nothing but trouble. Sound ninja are rare, after all.

"Sound?"

What the fuck? Is this guy a mind reader or something?

"What of it? ... Who do you work for, bastard, hm?" Zaku accuses, assuming the worst. He keeps a close eye on both of the freakshows flanking him, but it'd be easier if bombshell up there would come down to Earth.

"Don't ask questions, brat. Show me your headband," the newcomer demands. If he's got it out for Sound ninja, Zaku is probably fucked. Actually, he's fucked either way, come to think of it.

So, Zaku fishes out his headband and tosses it at the guy. It lands on the ground in front of him, face-up, the slashed music note available for all to see. The guy seems to contemplate this.

"Deidara," he calls once, but he doesn't keep talking until the bird brings him down. So that's his name.

"Yeah, my man?"

"Has this kid been copying you the whole time?"

"Huh?! Copying-- what, because of my hands?! Get real, hm! I've never seen this guy before in my life!" Zaku denies.

"Yeah, he talks exactly like you, see?"

"Huh? Does he? Guess I didn't notice, mm," Deidara says. He isn't attacking for the moment, but he's eyeing Zaku like he's ready to get straight back to it.

"Dosu mentioned you a few times. Said this one reminds him of you."

He knows Dosu?

""This one", huh?" Deidara comments, but his buddy ignores him.

"The way I see it, Sound ninja who have gone rogue have gotten tired of Orochimaru. Am I wrong?"

Zaku's situation is more complicated than that. He ran away because he was useless and hopeless. Orochimaru had already salvaged him from a similar state once, way back when, but Zaku couldn't see it happening again. He ran, and now he keeps running because he's scared of what might happen if Orochimaru remembers he exists, how angry he might be when he realizes one of his precious pawns disappeared on him of its own will.

"Nah, you pretty much got it," he answers anyway, just because it's shorter.

"Hey, wait a sec, Sasori, my man," Deidara cuts Sasori off before he can speak again. "You already got one Sound kid. Let me take this one."

Sasori narrows his eyes at him.

"What? I don't care for Orochimaru either. Besides, we're both Akatsuki, hm. If he's mine, he's yours, yeah?"

"Wait, when did I say I'd agree to this?" Zaku speaks up, because he really wasn't living in hiding this whole time just to be a pawn again.

Deidara raises his hand and smiles. It takes Zaku a moment to catch on, but when he looks down, there's a huge white centipede wrapped around his prosthetic arm.

"Shit--!"

"You work for me now. Come on, you can see your buddy again, mm."

Fuck. Zaku is employed now, he guesses.


	3. Chapter 3

"That coat looks expensive. How much do you have left?" Kakuzu asks, his tone less accusatory than one might expect. Hell, it's not his money.

"The first thing you taught me is not to give accurate numbers to anyone."

Kakuzu almost tries to glare at her but shrugs lightly instead.

"And anyway, of course I wouldn't buy something like this unless I had at least twice its worth saved up," Kin assures him, just because she doesn't like being seen as irresponsible.

"Good girl. You're actually adept at this," he praises, and Kin can't help but feel proud. "You'd be surprised how rare that is."

"I know what you mean, but I don't get how it could be rare. It's just sensible."

"Most people don't have a whole lot of sense."

The second thing Kakuzu taught her is that idiots are intolerable. Her standards for herself are higher than ever and the pressure has been on for the past few years, but she still feels like she's happier than before she met him.

After she'd woken up from that embarrassing loss to the Nara kid at the chuunin exam, she hid uselessly around the Leaf village for a while until the constant chatter about the exam drove her to leave. She'd gone back home to the Sound at first, visited her parents, but she couldn't explain the situation to them and set off on her own, lying through her teeth that she'd be fine. Well, looks like it was the truth after all.

She had to find some type of work, and Kin works best with her mind, so she wasn't looking so hard at the lucrative jobs, since they usually involved physical aspects. She did still glance just in case, though, and found a job that was paying way too much just to act as a middleman for a bounty collector. The posting turned out to be false advertising, as the listed price would be reasonably assumed to be paid all at once when really it was a per month estimation. When she took it, she was promptly told some horror stories about the guy she was about to be dealing with-- "Kakuzu, with the odd eyes"-- but she let herself believe they were exaggerating.

That is not to say that she let her guard down. No, she was prepared to defend herself even if she didn't make a show of it. She waited patiently for him to check the count, made no attempt at conversing with him, and then bowed her head slightly as he left. Professional, if nothing else. Both men in the room with her were somehow impressed by it, though, and even claimed that she must have a way with him.

Due to the fact that most people who know Kakuzu are, at the very least, reasonably intimidated by him, it wasn't long before Kin was cashing him in by herself. The third time, Kakuzu made conversation with her.

"A kid like you shouldn't be doing this alone. Irresponsible of the adults you work for," he said.

"They're afraid of you, so they'd rather be irresponsible than face you," she plainly stated. Kakuzu seemed to find that funny.

The fifth time he cashed in to her, maybe it was because he was in a hurry, but he didn't give the money more than a cursory glance before closing the briefcase and immediately leaving.

The sixth time, Kin spoke first.

"Was it accurate last time?" she asked. Kakuzu eyed her.

"Did you expect anything else?"

"No. I always count it at least twice before you get here to confirm that it's the right amount, but anyone can make mistakes. I'd rather not end up in a tiff with you without even knowing because you didn't count it until later."

Kakuzu didn't respond for a moment.

"You're a smart kid. Reel in that attitude a bit."

Every time Kakuzu cashed in, he brought another person with him. Sometimes they'd come into the collections office with him, sometimes they'd wait outside, but he always had the same person. That is, until the one time he didn't.

"Mind accompanying me for a bit? I'm short a partner," Kakuzu asked like it was nothing, in the middle of counting that day's bounty.

"... Could... you elaborate?"

Kakuzu explained what he does for a living, including the fact that he's the treasurer for something called the Akatsuki. He said that they're always supposed to work in pairs, but that Kakuzu's partners never last. Kin would be a temporary solution, he said, and she wouldn't be expected to join the Akatsuki officially.

Kin knew Kakuzu well enough by that point to know that declining would have been fine, that his temper really isn't as easy to rile as everyone thinks, but she still felt the compulsive urge to immediately say yes. She didn't resist it.

The work he took her to was significantly more mundane than Kin had expected-- a lot of errands, logistics, and the occasional bounty hunt. It left her wondering how Kakuzu's partners drop like flies, but she didn't bother asking.

Things might have been awkward at first, but Kin is receptive to the things Kakuzu says, and so conversation between them was easy. He would essentially lecture her as they walked, and though that sounds like something Kin would never have signed up for, Kakuzu always had useful things to teach Kin. He taught her about fiscal responsibility, about the true power of money, and she began to take on his views. She was never particularly irresponsible with money before, but she's especially good with it now.

Kin survived her partnership with Kakuzu just fine, and then was released when the Akatsuki found him a new partner. That one turned up dead too, apparently, and Kin was back to escorting Kakuzu in no time. Now, his newest partner was apparently unkillable, but he looks pretty dead over there with the spike through his chest. It's a good thing Kin happened to pass by, because it looks like Kakuzu will need another replacement.

"Eh? Who's this little girl? You got a kid, Kakuzu?" the body inquires, leaning up to look at them like he's just leisurely resting and not laying in his own blood. It catches Kin off guard.

"Finally done, then?"

"Hey, hey, don't ignore me just to complain! You didn't tell me you have a daughter!"

A... daughter?

"Just get up, Hidan."

... He's not denying it?!

It's creepy watching a dead man stand up. He grunts as he pulls the spear out of his heart, but no fresh blood comes out. That's weird. This guy is weird.

"So, wait, what's going on here? She's got a Sound headband," Hidan points out. Kin is used to people finding that odd and thinks nothing of it.

"They're not _all_ spies for Orochimaru," Kakuzu says. "Take Sasori's, for instance. They both want that guy dead."

"Sasori has one too?! Shit, I was thinking of that kid who hangs around Deidara all the time."

... Huh? Are Sound ninja suddenly flocking to the Akatsuki or something?

"Hey, girl. You know some loudmouth with a fake arm?" Hidan asks her, and Kin would be tempted to say no even if she did.

"Not as far as I'm aware..."

She pauses, though, as she thinks of the speaker Dosu used to have on his arm. She wouldn't consider that a "fake arm", but this guy might mistake it for one.

"Actually, what did it look like?" she doubles back. "I don't know anyone with a prosthetic arm, but I used to know someone who wore a device on his arm. Was that what you saw?"

"No, that's Sasori's," Kakuzu answers.

"Huh? Do... you happen to know his name?"

"No. Sorry about that."

"Ah..."

"Deidara's kiddo has, like... uhhh... I think it comes apart? I know it opens up for some wind techniques. Oh, and get this! The little bastard talks just like Deidara! They're two peas in a pod!"

That doesn't sound like anyone Kin knows, and she also doesn't know how Deidara talks. All she knows about him is his name, much like the other two Akatsuki members she's heard of-- Sasori and Itachi. At least with Sasori, the lack of information is due to Kin not looking for it, because she's well aware that he's famous in some circles. It would feel like faux pas, in her opinion, to try to investigate any of the members.

Hidan keeps trying to talk to Kakuzu, but he's left ignored as Kakuzu turns to Kin instead.

"Since I don't require an escort at the moment, you should head out. Our next destination will be dangerous."

"Hey, bastard! Are you listening to me?"

"But I'll talk to Sasori. See if we can't set up a meeting between you and his Sound kid to see if you know him."

"Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!"

"Alright, thank you. It's not a big deal if he says no," Kin says, not wanting in the least to step on any toes.

"I'll at least have his name for you by next time," Kakuzu promises, turning back around to walk right past Hidan.

"Eh? What, are we going? See ya, little girl."

Kin does not like Hidan.

Once they've left, Kin takes her headband off and stares down at it. She still uses legitimate channels, still technically has residency with her parents at the Sound village. Any time she remembers that she's still in the system over there, she gets a little unsettled. Orochimaru could very easily be keeping tabs on her, and he could up and decide he wants her back anytime. Maybe when she'd only just ran away, she'd wish for it, but it would only be a nightmare by this point.

If she finds out that Dosu is in the Akatsuki as a rogue ninja, she might just join him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it should be noted that kin hasn't seen zaku since he was hauled away on that stretcher, so she simply doesn't know about his prosthetic yet


	4. Chapter 4

It's somewhat rare for Dosu to actually travel with Sasori. Normally, their meetings don't last long and end with one or both of them leaving, and never in the same direction. Apparently, though, one of the other members of the Akatsuki wants to see Dosu for some reason, and Sasori told him that he wouldn't be able to get into the base on his own.

Deidara is accompanying them as well, but Zaku isn't with him today. They seem to "hang out" more than Dosu does with Sasori, but Sasori does have a lot more subordinates than Deidara, after all. He found out a few months ago that the guy with the glasses he swung at before the exam started all that time ago actually works for Sasori as well. He also found out he was secretly from the Sound the whole time. Maybe the Akatsuki just click with Sound ninja, which is especially interesting considering Orochimaru is a former member.

Before the entrance is unsealed, Dosu hears voices. One of them is Zaku, but he isn't sure about the other. It's once the way in is clear that he realizes he recognizes the other voice.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, okay?! Besides, it'd be more convenient for Kakuzu if you didn't suck with money."

"I don't care about money!"

"You should!"

"I don't!"

They're, uh, arguing. More importantly, that's Kin. Has Zaku been in contact with her and just didn't say anything or did they meet eyes after almost four years and immediately start arguing?

"Money makes the world go round, even idiots know that!"

"Not if you're strong enough to take what you need, hm."

"Oh my god. Are you stupid? No, like, really, are you an idiot?"

"Huh?!"

" _Huh?!_ " she echoes in a mocking imitation of Zaku's voice. "The real world doesn't work like that! You can swipe some food for free, sure, if you're good enough to get away with it-- but the things that _really_ matter take money!"

"Then I guess we have different ideas of what really matters, huh?"

"That-- ugh. If you don't want to get anywhere in the world, that's your problem," Kin finally gives up. "Just don't cause trouble for--"

"Your big scary dad? Yeah, sure."

It's now that Kin notices Dosu.

"It really is you... You're both here," she says, calmer now.

"It's been a while," Dosu says as a greeting.

"Guess the team is back together. Kinda fucking crazy that this is where all three of us ended up."

"I don't need three of you brats in one spot. Don't be making so much noise," Sasori complains. Dosu feels a little offended to be lumped in with the loudmouths.

"Hey, let 'em have their reunion, mm."

Deidara is decently close to Zaku, so if he's considering this a reunion, maybe he hadn't seen her until now after all. So that means...

"Did the two of you really start yelling at each other right away? Has nothing changed since then?" Dosu asks, remembering how any time his back was turned the two of them would start bickering or making faces at each other. He's convinced they didn't hate each other, though, because they were more than capable of bonding when they both felt like being sarcastic about the same thing.

"She started it," Zaku is quick to accuse, "she's all "401k!" now, hm."

"She's... what?"

"You asked what I was doing all this time and I _told_ you, which led to a discussion about money because _you_ think hating capitalism means you magically don't live in a world that runs on it."

Oh, now Dosu sees what he meant.

"Now, now. Do you think we could catch up on anything else? Maybe elsewhere?"

"I'm up for food if it's your treat," Zaku says.

"... Yeah, me too," Kin adds.

Great, now there's two of them. Zaku was already roping Dosu into feeding him a few times a month, and now he's got both of them again. It's really feeling like he's 14 again.

"It's insane-- she's, like, _exactly_ like him," Dosu hears Deidara whispering to Sasori as he takes his former teammates outside.

"The old man must have rubbed off on her," Sasori provides. "He's not even in here, is he?"

Dosu hasn't spoken to Kakuzu once, but now he feels like he has.

The three of them cover most of the major changes in their life on the way to town. It's nice, having peers around again. Dosu was lonely for a long time, and then he really only had Zaku, and only here and there. He's fond of Sasori and doesn't mind Deidara, but those are his superiors, not his friends.

He guesses Zaku and Kin are his friends.

"So, hey, you don't cover that side of your face anymore?" Kin points out as they're waiting for the food to arrive.

Dosu has had a bad eye for as long as he can remember and prefers to keep his mouth covered, so he used to kill two birds with one stone by covering most of his face. These days, his collar acts as a muffler and he just has a tendency to keep his bad eye closed. He can hardly see out of it, but sometimes it can help to have both eyes open.

"Didn't see any real point anymore, I guess," he shrugs.

"Hey, surprised he's not ugly under there?" Zaku jokes with a jab to Dosu's arm.

"Actually, kinda."

Brutal.

"Did you want me to cover the bill or not?"

"Heh. Alright, I'll be on my best behavior, hm."

"Doubtful."

They keep talking while they eat, and Zaku's damn laughter is contagious. Dosu thinks it's the first time he's had what he could consider to be a fun outing with friends.

They end up sticking together until it's dark out. Zaku's suggestion of "same time next week?" also ends up sticking, until the three of them are meeting every single week without needing to discuss it.

It's nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't plan on doing anything else for this fic specifically, but if i'd like to revisit this universe, i might make either a series or a collection for it. if it ends up being a collection, anyone is permitted to add to it!


End file.
